1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to protective head gear used by wrestlers and the like, particularly adopted to protect against injuries to the ear.
2. PRIOR ART
Protective head gear of the type to which this invention pertains have been known for many years. Many athletic sanctioning bodies require the use of such head gear as a prerequisite to competition. Illustrative examples are shown in Snyder, U.S. Pat. No. 2,533,526, Roberts, U.S. Pat. No. 2,886,818, Molioris, U.S. Pat. No. 3,471,865, and Otsuka, U.S. Pat. No. 3,500,475.
Keene, U.S. Pat. No. 2,898,596 discloses one such type of head gear. Ear guards are formed from a substantially rigid, non-deformable inner shell adapted to cover the wearer's ears. A flange having a flexible shock-absorbing material covers the exterior of the shell and engages the wearer's head around the ear. A plurality of straps are used to affix the ear guards to the head including straps around the chin, around the back of the head, over the top of the head and over the forehead.
Another such head gear is shown in Pukish, U.S. Pat. No. 3,327,316. In this patent each of the ear guards includes a relatively thick pad of shock-absorbing material to cover the wearer's ear, which may or may not include a rigid sheet member laminated thereto. Again a plurality of straps are used to affix the ear guards to the wearer's head.
Marchello, U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,288, discloses yet another head gear. In this version substantially triangular ear guards made of flexible vinyl have a resilient foam pad riveted to their interior. The head straps for affixing the ear guards to the wearer's head are formed integral with the exterior ear guard. The chin strap is releasably connected to the lower end and the head straps extend from the other corners of the ear guards. The head straps are adjustably joined by insertable rivets through predrilled holes, which are subsequently covered by a thin plastic tube.
All of the above prior art protective head gear suffer from serious problems. Foremost among these problems is that the helmets are either uncomfortable or provide insufficient protection. That is, if the helmets are constructed from soft and pliable materials, they do not adequately protect the wearer from impacts and other blows that might injure the ear. On the other hand, the prior art head gear having sufficiently rigid ear guards that are non-deformable under impact are uncomfortable--bulky.
Some prior art head gear attempt to cushion the ear guard. However, the bond between the cushion and the impact-resistant material is a further problem--either it is weak and allows relative movement or comprises rivets or the like which are irritants.
Another serious shortcoming of prior art devices is that they are not sufficiently immobile. Protective head gear is subjected to various pulls, tugs, pushes and shears. All of these tend to move the helmet upon the wearer's head. Some prior art devices attempted to correct this problem through a multiplicity of head straps. Unfortunately, the head gear is even more uncomfortable under the pressure of these additional straps, which in turn create the additional problem of furnishing more adjustments to properly affix the head gear to the head.
Nor does the prior art adequately solve the problem of adjustable straps to properly size the head gear to an individual through various arrangements of buckles or rivets. These too created additional irritants rendering an already uncomfortable head gear even more so.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a head gear for wrestlers and the like which will protect their ears from injuries to which they will be susceptible by their wearer's engagement in the selected athletic activity.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a head gear which is relatively comfortable to wear during the athletic activity.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a head gear that is securely affixed to the wearer's head with a minimum of straps that are easily adjustable, but which do not provide an irritant or will not come out of adjustment during the athletic activity.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a head gear that is easily manufactured and competitively priced with existing head gear.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the remainder of the specification, description, claims, and drawings.